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It's official -- SRT Viper heading back to Le Mans

The SRT Viper, shown here in 2012 at Road Atlanta competing in Petit Le Mans, will be racing at Le Mans this year. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

The ACO -- Automobile Club de l'Ouest -- has offered the invitation, and Chrysler has accepted: Two SRT Viper GTS-Rs will be entered in the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, which takes place June 22-23.

It's a return to the race that, arguably, gave the Viper its most triumphant moments. The model finished first and second at the 24 Hours in GTS class competition three straight years, from 1998 to 2000.

SRT Motorsports teamed with Riley Technologies, based in Mooresville, N.C., on the design and construction of the SRT Viper GTS-R. Two Vipers returned to competition last year at Mid-Ohio, the first of four test-and-tune races in preparation for a full 2013 schedule in the GT class in the American Le Mans Series. The Vipers are expected to test at the two-day session at Sebring International Raceway next week, in preparation for the Mobil1 12 Hours of Sebring next month.

Drivers will include Marc Goossens, Tommy Kendall, Kuno Wittmer, Dominik Farnbacher and Jonathan Bomarito. Additional team announcements will be revealed at a later date.

The Viper's successful racing heritage began in 1996 with its first racing entry, the original GTS-R, which earned five international GT championships and the 1997 to 1999 FIA GT championships in addition to the three consecutive one-two finishes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTS class. The Viper posted a stunning overall win over the prototypes at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in 2000, the first for a production-based American car. There was one lone Viper competing at the Rolex 24 this year, but it was a privateer effort, and finished deep in the field. The Viper is expected to return to the Rolex 24 next year as a team effort, as that will be the first race in the combined Grand-Am and ALMS grid.

With Dodge leaving the NASCAR Sprint Cup series this year, despite winning the 2012 championship with now-Ford team Penske Racing and Brad Keselowski, Chrysler and SRT are depending on the Viper program to spearhead the company's motorsports program this season. The preliminary races in 2012 for the new car showed teething problems -- the two-car Viper team finished 20th and 39th in the 42-car field at the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta last year. But the cars have been testing since, and should come out of the box strong this year.

“Racing is truly a part of the illustrious history of Viper and a proving ground for the SRT brand,” said Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of Street and Racing Technology Brand and Motorsports at Chrysler Group. “Historically the Viper GTS-R has enjoyed great success at Le Mans, so we couldn't be more excited and proud to accept the challenge to return to France and continue composing the next chapter in the history of Viper racing at such an historic venue.”